Events
April 26
1803 – Over 2,300 meteorite stones, weighing between one quarter ounce and 20 pounds, rained down on the people of L’Aigle in northeastern France. The meteorites poured down along an 8-mile-long strip in this little town, 100 miles west of Paris. No one was hurt; but it was the first time scientists could verify that stones could come from outer space.

1921 – Weather broadcasts were heard for the first time on radio when WEW in St. Louis, MO aired weather news. Weather forecasts continue to be the top reason why people listen to radio; rating higher than music, news, sports and commercials! A sunny day to you wherever you may be on the planet…

1932 – Ed Wynn was heard on radio’s Texaco Star Theater for the first time. Wynn, a popular vaudeville performer, demanded a live audience to react to his humor if he was to make the switch to radio. The network consented and Wynn became radio’s first true superstar. He would later make the switch to TV.

1937 – This was a tragic day in history as German planes attacked the town of Guernica in Northern Spain. Without warning, the planes swooped down on the sleepy village, subjecting the citizens to three hours of continuous bombing. The village was left in flames; those who survived the bombs and tried to escape to surrounding fields were shot down by machine-gun fire from the air.

1937 – The publisher of LIFE magazine just about passed out when he looked at his just-off-the-press publication and noticed that someone had forgotten to put the word “LIFE” in the upper left-hand corner! It was the only time that LIFE was nameless. Since hundreds of thousands of copies were already printed, the magazine hit the streets with no name on the cover! The reason? A picture of a rooster would have had an obscured comb if the logotype had been used in the upper left-hand corner as usual.

1937 – The initial broadcast of Lorenzo Jones was heard over NBC radio this day. Karl Swenson played the lead role for the entire run of the serial. And quite a run it was. Lorenzo Jones was on the air until 1955.

1952 – Patty Berg set a new record for major women’s golf competition. She shot a 64 over 18 holes in a tournament in Richmond, California.

1954 – Grace Kelly, “Hollywood’s brightest and busiest star,” was seen on the cover of LIFE magazine. In a couple of years, the actress would leave the U.S. to become Princess Grace of Monaco.

1964 – The Boston Celtics wrapped up an unprecedented sixth consecutive NBA championship. The Celtics still had two more crowns to win, however, before the string would come to an end.

1970 – The musical, Company, opened on Broadway. It ran for 705 performances before parting company with appreciative audiences at the Alvin Theatre in New York City. Company starred Elaine Stritch.

1975 – On top of the Billboard popular music chart was B.J. Thomas, with the longest title ever for a number one song. (Hey Won’t You Play) Another Somebody Done Somebody Wrong Song was number one for one week, though it took that long just to say the title.

1983 – For the first time, the Dow Jones industrial average moved over the 1200 mark, just two months after smashing the 1100 barrier.

1986 – At 1:23 a.m. in Pripyat in the Ukraine when the Chernobyl atomic power station exploded. A three-hundred-square-mile area was evacuated in an attempt to protect over 100,000 residents of the area from radiation poisoning. 31 people died and unknown thousands were exposed as the radioactive material carried in the atmosphere spread throughout the world.